"THE LIFE OF A PRINCE" by Genji

 

Rainbow Genji: Mee-Yow everyone! Sei-Chan said it would be OK for me to host this from my new digs over at RB. Oh boy! That last day was a baaaaaad day. I had been feeling OK, even though I was pretty skinny and had lost a lot of muscle mass, and then I got the shakes! I promise I did not steal any of #1's whisky. Anymeow, the world started going every which way and I was so scared. #1 scooped me up and held me until it stopped. She said it felt like there was an earthquake inside me. Things just went downhill from there, and then we went for a car ride. The nice Ms. M wrapped me in a fleece blankie and held me in her arms. I could see #1 right in front of me, and she put her hand on me whenever she could (it's a stick shift car...). And then things started to get dark, and I thought I was falling asleep... All of a sudden, I open my eyes and what do I see? Da Beebs and Tommy running towards me! And behind them was Sei-Chan (she's still a little chubby), and then there was the guys I had heard about but never met: Yuu-Chan, Sen-Chan and Ikkyu. A little shyly off to one side was Trav. I said hi because I remembered seing him from the window and from the cat run, and he purred at me! And I felt strong! And healthy! And then I looked around for #1 but she wasn't there  I was sad, but Tommy told me that she would be coming eventually but that, in the meantime, it was our job to watch over her.

We had a lot of catching up to do and since I didn't know everyone, I decided to tell them my story.

I was born in south west France and I sang so much as a baby that I ended up with a tiny voice!

When I was just a little over 3 months old, I got on a big flying machine and went north where I met #1. I loved her as soon as I met her:

This was me just when I arrived home. #1 had prepared a special private suite for me!

It took me some time to grow into those frootbats:

But I knew I was home with my new #1:

And then Da Beebs came to say hi and he was HUGE!

Then I met Sei-Chan:

I discovered #1's bed!

It was a popular place:

This was my first official portrait, two weeks after I arrived:

I loved to play!

Woofie Tommy and I became friends:

Those were such happy, happy times, and they continued for the next few years. We were all young, healthy and happy. We had fun, snuggled, ate well, and played. There was so much to smile about!

I had a voracious appetite and kept being told off by #1 for trying to steal everyone else's food! And of course, I had the best big brother:

Everyone kept saying how cute I was...

There were Christmases:

There was snow:

And there was grass:

And there was always my #1 whom I loved more than anyone:

I had the perfect life.

And then, in February 2016, not long before my fifth birthday, I got really sick with acute pancreatitis and had to be hospitalised:

#1 held my paw but I was scared:

I was so happy when I came home, and Tommy looked after me:

For months, I had to eat a special diet of just chicken:

I got better but my next blood test showed that I was positive for the coronavirus which triggers FIP. Dr. C told #1 that I was a ticking time bomb and that my life should be as stress-free as possible, but things could change for me from one minute to the next. And you know what? We got another five years before the whole thing got to be too much! I got five extra years of cuddles and my family! What do you say to that? I would have really liked to make it to ten, but I am thankful for all that extra time with #1 and my family. And I confess that, when everyone started to leave, I got a bit sad and stressed. It got harder and harder for #1 to keep weight on me and keep me eating. But when young Ollie arrived, after Tommy left, I was the first one to become his friend!

I tried to be a good brother, and a good boy for #1. I am a little worried about how many cuddles she is going to get now that I am gone, but Ollie and Tama said they would step up, and I hope there will be other kitties too.

This is the last picture of the three of us together. It was taken on Thursday, a few hours before I had that seizure:

But I would rather you remember me when I looked better, such as in this great portrait taken by Mr. G just a month ago.

It was a good life, dear friends. I had the greatest gift anyone could ask for, to be loved unconditionally. I shall return on Saturdays with the rest of the Bridge gang so you won't have any chance of forgetting me!

Oh, and before I go, I wanted to tell you one more thing. I know how much my #1 loves me and I wanted to do something really special for her. Her private nickname for me had always been GG. She thought it didn't stand for anything in particular, but I knew.  And so I decided to give her Genji's Gift. You may not know that France has lagged behind terribly on covid vaccinations and #1 was really keen to get hers, especially that she will be travelling in the summer. But there was no way she could get an appointment. Everywhere was short of vaccines. So, as I started my journey to the Bridge, I waved my magic whisker. Ten minutes later, she got a call from a retired physician friend who is volunteering at our local vaccination centre, telling her they had a spare dose, and could she come down immediately?

From now on, I shall be Genji The Protector. And I've started working on getting that knee of hers back to 100%. That will be my legacy.